Running It Back: The Renaissance of the NFL Ground Game?

By Paul Gould

After the rushing exploits of Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry in 2024, there was much talk of the renaissance of the running game in the NFL. In a league dominated by passing attacks, Barkley broke the coveted 2000-yard barrier that season and Henry fell just 79 yards shy of joining him.

While these impressive statistics didn’t mark a sudden return to the days of ‘3 yards and a cloud of dust’, the run-heavy gameplan that dominated the NFL in the 1950s and 1960s, they did fuel excited chatter that running backs, and the running game in general, were fashionable again.

One year on, is there concrete evidence that is the case?

Running Records

Total combined rushing yards across all teams in the 2025 season was 63,618, a dip from the 65,147 accumulated in 2024. Total combined carries were also slightly down, from 14,687 in 2024 to 14,601 in 2025. However, the number of rushing touchdowns marginally increased from 498 to 510. All in all, the numbers weren’t quite as strong in 2025 as 2024 but were solid enough.

What made 2024 stand out so starkly was the year that preceded it. 2023 was not a good year for running attacks by comparison. The total number of league-wide rushing attempts (14,156) and rushing yards (61,287) were notably lower than those recorded in the two seasons that have followed.

Go back as far as the 2022 season, however, and you’ll find that it eclipsed 2024 in terms of both total combined rushing attempts and yardage. And you have to consult the dusty record books of the Covid hit 2020 season to find combined rushing figures lower than those of 2023.

What all these numbers appear to show is that there has been a revival of the run, but it actually began in 2022. Every season since then, there have been at least five teams each season with 500 or more rushing attempts. Prior to 2022, that hadn’t happened since 2012.

Runners & Riders

Clearly, more teams are committing to the run in recent years and doing so effectively. The most impressive ground attack of all in this four-year period belongs to the Baltimore Ravens. They are the only team to have had more than 500 rushing attempts every year since 2022. In doing so, the Ravens have compiled over 2,500 yards on each occasion. And perhaps most notably, Baltimore has averaged more than five yards per carry in all those seasons, apart from 2023 when they fell just shy (4.9 yards per carry). The league average per carry has been either 4.3 or 4.4 yards during that period.

For the past two seasons, much of that success has been powered by the legs of Derrick Henry. The 32-year-old shows no signs of slowing. He followed up his incredible 1,921 yards performance in 2024 by stacking up 1,595 yards last year. Bear in mind that he achieved that figure in a team that finished with a losing record (8-9) and it becomes even more exceptional. Before his arrival in Baltimore, he established himself as an elite running back for the Titans, racking up four 1,000-yard seasons and a 2,000-yard tally in 2020. Runner-up to the league’s leading rusher in each of the last four seasons, ‘King’ Henry is sure to be in the mix to take the crown himself in 2026.

Two other franchises placing significant emphasis on the running game since 2022 are the Buffalo Bills and the Chicago Bears.

No team had more rushing attempts last season than Buffalo (547). In 2024, the Bills scored the most rushing touchdowns (32). In 2023, they ran on first down more than any other team (30.9%).

Like the Ravens, the Bills’ running attack is spearheaded by an RB with star quality. In just his fifth year in the NFL, James Cook was the league’s leading rusher in 2025. Other than in his rookie campaign, Cook has recorded successive 1,000-yard seasons. There’s every reason to believe that he has yet to reach his peak and he will continue to be the fulcrum of Buffalo’s offence alongside QB Josh Allen.

Since 2022, the Bears have logged more than 500 rushing attempts every season other than in 2024. In 2025, they ranked third in rushing behind the Bills and the Ravens. Whilst this hasn’t translated into regular playoff appearances, the direction of travel is positive, and the running game played an important role in the Bears rise to become NFC North division champions last year.

Unlike the Bills and Ravens, Chicago adopted a two-pronged approach to their rushing attack, harnessing the abilities of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. The pair combined for 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. First-year head coach, Ben Johnson, stamped his innovative style on Chicago’s offence to great effect, as he did when serving as offensive coordinator in Detroit. A dynamic running game is central to that gameplan and will be integral to the Bears DNA going forward.

It will be fascinating to see whether this long-standing commitment to the run will continue in Baltimore and Buffalo, following the departure of head coaches John Harbaugh and Sean McDermott. Continuity is perhaps more likely to be the case in Buffalo, where offensive coordinator Joe Brady has been promoted to the top job.

Other Factors At Play

A major factor in the general revival of the running game across the NFL is the rise of the mobile quarterback. The likes of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Justin Herbert, who were at the forefront of this trend, are now joined by Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jaxson Dart, all of whom have demonstrated their abilities to gain yards on the ground as well as through the air. And love it or loathe it, the ‘tush push’ has seen Eagles QB Jalen Hurts utilised heavily as a runner in short yardage situations.

Quarterbacks accounted for 17% of total rushing yards in the NFL in 2024 and 15% in 2025; a significant proportion in both cases. The days of quarterbacks operating primarily as pocket passers are long gone and those offering a dual threat are increasingly prized. The rising number of fourth down attempts is also bolstering rushing statistics across the league.

In 2015, just seven RBs posted 1,000-yard seasons. A decade on, last season saw that figure more than double to 17. RB Kenneth Walker III was voted MVP of Super Bowl LX, the first time a running back had received the accolade since Terrell Davis in 1998.

There’s little doubt that RB talent is both rich and deep in today’s NFL. The position has been valued more highly in recent drafts too, with Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price all being taken in the first round since 2023.

The renaissance of the run is real.

PAUL GOULD

NFL ANALYST

A freelance writer and editor based in Cambridgeshire, Paul has avidly followed the NFL since the late 1980’s and spends much of his spare time wondering if he’ll ever see the Raiders play in a Super Bowl again.

Rated 5 out of 5